The Strength Within - Chapters 1-3
by ponsheki
Summary: The Journey of Brian and the Life of Jem.


Chapter 1  
  
A young boy of 10 stepped into the arena as did five other. The announcer declared that the battle was about to begin between Brian and his brothers. Clutching their pokeballs Andre, Rick, John, Simon, and Henry snickered at their youngest brother. Suddenly a mass of pokeballs was thrown into the air. Out came every single one of Eevee's evolutions.  
  
Brian looked at the his brothers and with an evil grin as he threw down his pokeball down. MEWTWO!!!!!! His pokemon began glow and as it did, the entire arena became quiet. Andre broke the silence by commanding Blacky to attack. The dark pokemon walked right at the psychic pokemon with absolutely no fear at all. Devil tackle! Andre shouted it so loud that an echo was heard.  
  
But Mewtwo was too quick, it quickly evaded attack! Now it was Brian who became very happy. Brian now ordered swift, the stars swirled around knocking Blacky out cold. The other trainers knowing that there was no hope for their own pokemon, ordered mass attack. Brian responded by laughing and grinning at his brothers.  
  
The remaining four pokemon charged with great furry but Brian only laughed. Mewtwo receive every single attack but wasn't even harmed. Now Brian with a look of madness, ordered psychic. A flash of light then all of the pokemon fell down. The brothers shouted for their pokemon to return as Brian began to laugh hysterically pointing his finger at his brothers......  
  
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"Wake up!"  
  
"What? Who is it?"  
  
"This is your teacher young man and you are at Emerald Collegiate Institute!!!!!  
  
Brian's eyes focus as he saw his stern teacher overlooking him. Quickly making up his mind, he gave the best puppy-dog that he could.  
  
:Sigh: The teacher instantly rolled her eyes as her face turned serious.  
  
"This is your last day here! Can't you stay awake for a few hours? You know I'm good friends with you parents and I'm pretty concerned about you! Your family has a tradition of choosing eevee evolutions and now that they are all taken by your brothers, you are going to be left out."  
  
Brian had heard all of this many times and he didn't care a single bit. So what if he didn't get to use Vaporeon or Eefi, he only wanted one that could beat all of his brothers pokemon. Every day his brothers would brag about how strong their pokemon are and now he wouldn't last a few second in battle. Tomorrow, he would prove them all wrong!  
  
---------------------------  
  
That night, he twisted and turned in his bed thinking of what type would he want. Starter pokemon are chosen by Prof.. Oak who is the leading expert in pokemon training. The usually three pokemon were in short supply so he should be completely surprised when the time arrives. All the possible pokemon flashed through his head but what he really wanted was a Mewtwo. Nothing could stop a Mewtwo, even dark Pokemon wouldn't stand a chance against a blizzard....  
  
---------------------------  
He was lead into a dry, sweaty room filled with laboratory equipment. Walking slowly, he moved towards the table in the middle knowing that Prof.. Oak told him to stand there and wait. Minutes past as he became more nervous.  
Finally Prof.. Oak appeared with a pokeball, plated with gold. Brian's heart skipped a beat as he reached out his hand but Oak stopped him and told him to stay where he was. Mewtwo, Mewtwo, Mewtwo.....oh please let it be a Mewtwo! Brian secretly crossed his fingers behind his back as he waited.  
After examining the pokeball several times, Prof. Oak spoke. "This will be your first pokemon and you need to treat it with the utmost respect. Do not lose it because it will not be replaced. Allow it to walk around and explore once in a while. Also, food is given at the specified feeding times as it will say in your pokedex.   
  
"Prof.. Oak, I know I can handle being a trainer. Please I really want my pokemon, can you give it to me now?"  
  
"Okay, remember to take good care of your pokemon. Further instructions are included with your pokedex. Do you have it with you?"  
  
"Yes, I kept it since a first received when I was three."  
  
"Good, here is your pokemon and hand me your pokedex so I can upgrade it."  
Brian took his pokedex out of his pocket and gave it to Oak. After attaching it to the main computer, he pressed a few buttons as the room filled with sound. With the upgrade complete, he handed the pokedex back along with the golden pokeball.  
Quickly glancing at his pokedex, he turned his attention to the pokeball. Throwing his pokeball down, a beam of energy formed a shellder.  
  
"Where's Mewtwo?."  
  
"Mew what?"  
  
"Mewtwo!   
  
"You must mean those rumors from Cinnabar Island, you know they aren't true."  
  
"But it is true, from what I heard, they found a pokemon they named Mew in the jungle and it gave birth to Mewtwo!"  
  
"Well.....okay, I have heard that it was designed to be a universally strong pokemon, but I really don't believe it. An individual pokemon cannot be universally strong, each pokemon has an individual weakness."  
  
Brian looked disappointed, he returned shellder and placed the pokeball onto his belt and started to leave.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
His mother and teacher was outside his house to greet him.  
  
"I can't believe you're growing up so fast! Your teacher and I have everything you need for the long journey to the Elite four!"  
  
"Where is my father?"  
  
"Your father.........is busy with his work"  
  
Brian noticed the face his mother made, he was about question further but his teacher interrupted."  
  
"Don't lie to Karen! You know what he is doing!" Brian's teacher replied angrily.  
  
"What are you talking about Miss. Maudie?"  
  
:sigh: Brian's mother took a deep breath and told Brian everything.  
  
"Your father is out with your brothers........" Brian's mother replied quietly.  
  
"What?! Why won't he even be here?"  
  
"Your father doesn't think enough of you to come here!" Exclaimed Miss Maudie.  
  
With a look of dismal, Brian asked why.  
  
"He considers you to be the...........runt of the family, he rather focus on your brothers than you." His mother told him with a heavy-hearted voice.  
  
Tears began flowing down Brian's cheeks as he realized that he has been reject by his own father.  
  
"Look, you can show him up, train to be better than your brothers and show him what a mistake he made!!!" Miss Maudie nearly shouted.  
  
"I can't, I'll never be good enough for him."  
  
Brian turned away from his teacher, Miss Maudie and his mother and headed off to the woods. His mother tried to follow him but was held back by Miss. Maudie who told her that he needed to be alone.   
  
Walking in the peaceful woods, he heard birds sing, saw rattatas hiding in their burrows away from the blistering sun. Reflecting on what has happened, he stopped to recover. Leaning on a tree next to a brook he fell asleep, he felt very tired with the knowledge that there really was no point in going on.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
It was in a quite court yard where a man sat in his beach chair relaxing in the sun. In his early thirties, the man try his best to relax after a hard day's work. Next to him, a young woman wearing shades was pouring him lemonade. The two people spoke and giggled to each other, as if they didn't have a care in the world. In the late afternoon sun, they kissed each other lovingly, in front of nearby guards. They were a couple, but not just any couple, not a normal couple for these two people were the official leaders of Team Rocket.   
  
A young girl skipped towards them, she was wearing a jump skirt with two pokeballs on her belt. At the age of five, she was still in her years where curiosity often overwhelmed her. Like any five year old, she had a big smile on her face when she greeted her daddy, the man in the char. However, she ignored the young woman, giving her the cold shoulder.  
  
"Daddy, who is that woman?"  
  
Her father and the young woman stopped kissing and they stared at her.  
  
"Daddy, where is my mommy?!"  
  
The woman stepped towards her, she leaned down her speaking softly.  
  
"I'm your mommy, and you are now my new daughter, Jem."  
  
The woman in shades held out her hand to her but Jem took one look then pushed it aside. Jem jumped on to her father's lap, crying her eyes out and pounded on her father's chest.  
  
"Daddy! I want my mommy! Pleaded Jem.  
  
"But honey, you're old mommy is gone, Karen is your new mommy now." Giovanni reasoned.  
  
"Will I ever see my mommy again?" Asked Jem.  
  
Karen couldn't hold her mouth any longer, she had dirty look on her face when she spoke to Jem.  
  
"Unless you have a similar accident, you won't see your mommy anymore."  
  
Giovanni gave Karen a cold look before turning his attention back to his daughter.  
  
"Jem please, don't pay attention to Karen, she's just joking." But Giovanni's voice had a nervous ring to it, Jem would tell her father was lying.  
  
"I don't like this woman! Tell her to go away so mommy can come back!" Jem shouted at her father's face.  
  
"Jem........." Giovanni's voice was now a harsh tone.  
  
"Daddy, I want everything the way it was! Make this whore go away!!!" Jem was continuing with even greater furiously to shout in Giovanni's face.  
  
Karen looked horrified and Giovanni's face turned bright red.  
  
"Jem!" Giovanni gave his firm, flat, commanding voice that he usually save for his workers.  
  
"No, I'm not going to stand by this time! I want my mommy and I want her now!" Jem screamed.  
  
Karen whispered something to Giovanni's ear, Jem couldn't make out what it was. Feeling betrayed, she ran twenty feet away before turning around to face her father and Karen again. Jem removed the two pokeball that were on her belt and threw them at the couple. They exploded into a Pikachu and a clefairy.  
  
"I challenge that woman to a duel, if I win I want her gone!" Demanded Jem.  
  
Giovanni and his new wife chuckled at Jem, a man to the right of Giovanni walked forward. Jem stared curiously at the man for a while before realizing that he was wearing a white lab coat. Jem didn't like the idea of a doctor nearby.  
  
"Dr. Lee, my daughter needs your treatment."  
  
"Of course, you know that stubborn children like your daughter can be cure easily with a dream-eater treatment!" The doctor showed no emotion at all, it was as though he was dead.  
  
Behind the doctor was a drowzee, a purplish chubby pokemon that walked awkwardly. It eye glowed with psychic power, it was a type considered to be the most powerful of all the types. Jem didn't understand this, angry at someone coming uninvited, she ordered her pokemon to keep him at a safe distance. Pikachu growled at the doctor in response but that made Giovanni and his lover laugh even louder.  
  
"Don't let him come closer! Ordered Jem to her pokemon.  
  
"Please honey, call your pets before you hurt yourself!" Karen sneered at her lover's daughter.  
  
"I'm sure the good doctor can take care of this." Giovanni glanced at the doctor whose drowsee was walking towards Jem.  
  
Jem barked an order, both of her pokemon charge forward, making an attempted to attack but the drowsee used a hypnosis attack before they got even close. Both Jem and her pokemon fell into a deep sleep.  
  
"With that taken care of I'll start the treatment on your daughter, by the time I'm finish your daughter won't remember a thing about her previous mother!" Emotionless, the doctor informed Giovanni.  
  
"Drowzeeeee....." The pokemon stumbled forward obediently.  
  
"Good because I don't ever want my daughter to have bad thoughts......." After saying that, Giovanni walked up to his daughter and stroked her hair. He smiled at the thought of them being one big happy family, not like his former wife. Moving aside, he allowed the doctor to begin the treatment. Watching on as his daughter's memories were erased by the drowzee bit by bit, he felt more relax than ever.  
  
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The morning rays woke Brian up, in the distance, he heard the sounds of pokemon foraging for food. He drank out of the nearby creek as he contemplated his fate. Looking around, he saw that he was fairly deep in the forest.  
  
He was feeling pretty lonely so he let loose shellder. Since it had no legs, it simply bounced on the ground to keep up with Brian. It was fairly good company, and Brian felt he needed to talk to something before he explodes.  
  
"You know, I have never really been close to dad, but I never knew he hated me."  
  
"Shell, shell, shellder, shellllddder."  
  
"Uh.................okay." Brian knew that some trainers managed to understand poke speech but right now, he wasn't one of them.   
  
They continued walking for hours in the forest, Brian trying to make small talk and shellder agreeing with him. It was very helpful in calming Brian down after the horrific ordeal with his parents. He never ever wanted to see his father ever again.  
  
Suddenly, a rattata stepped in front of him, challenging him to a duel. It was a small purple creature which was common in this area. It flicked its tail and let out a growl to try to get Brian to back down. But Brian actually found it funny, rattata looked even cutter trying to challenge him. He let out a good laugh, it really helped him feel better. Rattata not understanding why Brian was laughing became even angrier.  
  
"Wanna fight huh, well I'll show you! Shellder go!"  
  
"Rattataaaa!" The pokemon roared.  
  
The battle started with rattata jumping into the air to tackle shellder.  
  
"Withdraw!" Brian was quick to react.  
  
Shellder closed its shell just as the rattata was slamming into him. The rat pokemon hit its head on the shell and landed on its feet after tumbling on the grass for a while. For a moment Brian didn't know where his opponent was but then he saw that the impact had thrown rattata several feet away.   
  
"Good, now finish it off with a tackle!"  
  
Shellder jumped high into the air, it close it shell midway up and hurled itself towards rattata. But shellder's slow speed cause it to miss the purple rat. Angry now, the rattata used tail whip causing shellder to lose some of its concentration.  
  
"Come on, focus on the rattata and use another tackle!"  
  
Shellder once again flung itself at the rattata. The rat pokemon tried to rush out, but this time shellder attack hit home. Rattata was flipped up into the air, it fell to the ground where it fainted.  
  
"Yes, my first victory!!!!" Brian rejoiced.  
  
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After many such battles, he finally reached Viridian City. The city was vibrant with people, who were renown as expert gardeners. He entered the city as he did when he went to his school every day. Since most cities checked ID's, he was sure to keep his pokedex handy.   
  
There wasn't much about Viridian City he knew about. He went to school there but never really took a walk in the city. However, he knew the local Nurse Joy after he worked with her daughter, Liz on a project together. It turns out that Liz was waiting for him at the front of the Pokecentre.  
  
"Mom's out on an emergency but I can heal your pokemon."  
  
"Okay."  
  
He went into an semi-full waiting room with many chanseys moving sick pokemon around. At the front desk, Liz place his pokeball into a machine that looked like a scanner. After a few second of flashing, Liz gave him back his pokemon.  
  
"Thank you, please come again!" Giggled Liz.  
  
"By the way, were you expecting me?" Questioned Brian  
  
"Why would you say that?"  
  
"Well, it is very suspicious that you would be standing outside of this pokecentre instead of continuing on to Pewter City."  
  
Liz's face suddenly turned a rosy pink, Brian knew what would be coming.  
  
"Can I please accompany you on your journey?" Begged Liz  
  
"But why, I hardly know you. We only spent a week together working on that assignment."  
  
"Look, it is very lonely on the way to become a pokemon trainer. I heard that 25% of people who attempt training alone go insane. Plus there is safety in number, what if team rocket attacked you? They would steal all your pokemon if you lose the battle, but with another person, you would have some security!"  
  
"Well........okay, I'll wait for you outside."  
  
"Thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me!!!!"  
  
:Sigh: Brian wanted to be left alone, but he did know that having a partner would really be beneficial. He sat on the bench outside of the pokecentre as he waited for his partner to come out.  
  
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Liz made small talk with Brian as they traveled through Viridian Forest. They exchanged ideas on breeding, training, and techniques to use. They did not catch any pokemon since it was mostly rattatas and pidgys. On the way, they met a few trainer with bug pokemon, but nothing too serious.  
  
"I love nature don't you?" Inquired Liz.  
  
"I rather be at home playing video games." Muttered Brian.  
  
Everything was going on schedule as they walked under the shadows of the trees. The air was clear and fresh. Nature seemed to become peaceful again. They continued to walk under the trees, enjoying the scenery. But something caught Brian's eye, he noticed a mysterious pokeball was in the middle of the trail.  
  
"Free pokeballs?" Asked Liz.  
  
"I'm taking a closer look."  
  
Brian moved in closer and so did Liz. When they were ten feet away, the pokeball exploded and smog filled the air.  
  
:cough: "What they heck is that?" Asked Brian  
  
"It's a trap and you are its victims!" Looking around, neither Brian or Liz knew who or where was speaker.  
  
The smog cleared and in its place, stood a girl their age wearing the Team Rocket logo. She was cover head to toe in black clothing so they couldn't tell what she looked like. A handkerchief covered her mouth and a mask covered her eyes. The only think they knew about her was that she had blackish hair.  
  
"Refer to me as the Jem, a member of team rocket! Now handle over your pokemon!"  
  
"Not on your life you witch!" Shouted Liz  
  
"We are not afraid of a small girl pretend-playing to be a criminal!" Thundered Brian.  
  
"I'll show you to keep your mouths shut when dealing with Team Rocket!"  
  
Removing two pokeballs from her belt, she threw them down on the ground.  
  
"Clleeefairy!"  
  
"Pika, Pikachu!"  
  
"Didn't know that Team Rocket used such pathetic pokemon!" Sneered Brian.  
  
"Using two pokemon at the same time? I thought Team Rocket had more honor than that!" Inquired Liz.  
  
"Team Rocket does what it need to survive!" Remarked Jem.  
  
Brian toss his pokeball in as did Liz.  
  
"Shell, shell, shellder!"  
  
"Char, charmander, char!"  
  
"Shellder team up with charmander!"  
  
"Clefairy, team up with Pikachu!"  
  
The two teams were one on one against each other.  
  
"Mass attack!" shouted by everyone. Both teams moved at each other.  
  
"Shellder, tackle!"  
  
"Charmander, use ember!"  
  
"Clefairy, sing!"  
  
"Pikachu, thundershock!"  
  
Sing didn't work as both shellder and charmander's embers quickly knocked clefairy to the ground. But Liz could tell clefairy wasn't hurt that badly. Pikachu evaded attack from both shellder and charmander by doing a back flip. It made a perfect landing, then managed to shock both and shellder and charmander. Both Liz and Brian noticed that clefairy had picked itself off the ground.  
  
"Shellder, try to stand your ground! Use withdraw!"  
  
"Clefairy get up and pound those two loser pokemon into the ground!"  
  
"Charmander, scratch attack!  
  
Clefairy pounded charmander who dropped head first into the ground. Then clefairy moved on towards shellder, but the pounding didn't affect shellder at all. Pikachu continued on with its thundershock striking charmander once again. Charmander couldn't handle the strong attacks and fainted. Liz returned him back to his pokeball.  
  
"Enough, I want both of you to finish that shellder with mega punch!" Ordered Jem.  
  
Brian's pokemon charged at them but was blasted back by Pikachu's and clefairy's mega punch. Shellder hit Brian's chest, causing him to drop onto the ground.  
  
"Shell......" Shellder said weakly beside Brian.  
  
:cough: Brian was desperately gasping for air as he tried to stand up.  
  
"We can't let them defeat us!" Brian tried to yell, but could only whisper because the attack hit him so badly.  
  
He took on last look on Jem before everything became black.  
  
"Brian!"  
  
Brian had fainted leaving Liz to contend with Jem. The battle was almost won by Jem, or was it? Hot rage filled Liz's body as she stood defiantly against her opponent.  
  
"Shellder, your master has fainted, will you follow my orders?" Liz asked shellder not know if the pokemon would be willing to follow her commands.  
  
Shellder nodded, it understood the situation and knew that Liz was his last hope.  
  
"Shellder, tackle now!" With shellder following her orders, she gave a stern command.  
  
"Don't that shellfish get to you, mega punch it away!" Jem knew that she would probably win.  
  
Two again one battle, they all faced each other. Liz stood nervous, afraid of what would happen if shellder lost. Jem smiled thinking there was no way that she would lose. The three pokemon charged at each other. Jem's pokemon easily managed to jump effortlessly high into the air while shellder struggled for a while before following pursuit. Over confident, Jem didn't noticed that shellder was going slower because of its weight. In the air, shellder was quickly losing speed and with it, height. Pikachu and clefairy in the meanwhile, were both light and could keep their current heights longer.  
  
After seconds of intense tension, Pikachu and clefairy both used mega punch. They missed shellder and both got hit by shellder's tackle in their stomachs . The attack left both pokemon gasping for air when they fell back down to the ground. Weakened by the attack, they fainted after a few seconds.  
  
"No, this can't be happening! I can't lose, you twerps, I will have your heads even if it is that last thing I do!!!" Yelled Jem.  
  
Jem withdrew both of her pokemon, she looked very angry at the moment. Liz celebrated until she saw that Jem was holding another pokeball.  
  
"What?! But you said......no this is impossible, if you had more you would have use them right at the start!" A surprised Liz commented.  
  
Liz was extremely nervous now, she knew that shellder may not be able to handle another battle. But things became much more worst when shellder fainted from exhaustion leaving Liz on her own. Frightened, Liz desperately wanted to get out of there, her worst thoughts was of her pokemon being ripped off her belt. The emotions were now beginning to over take Liz who was shaking heavily.  
  
"You can't win!" An emotional Liz cried in protest.  
  
The pokeball was thrown onto the ground, Liz gasped. Fearing the worst she turned her full attention towards the pokeball, but to her dismay instead of a pokemon the pokeball burst into smog. Jem was trying to escape!  
  
When the smog cleared, Jem was gone. Liz now dropped to her knees, she was exhausted from her ordeal. The light was going out as the clouds passed over the sun, for a moment, Liz considered what had happened so far. Fear broke out in her mind, horrified at what almost happened, she stood for a while, crying softly..........  
  
-----------------  
  
Nurse Joy took care of their pokemon as a doctor look at Brian's injuries.  
  
"He'll be fine."  
  
Joy tried her best to cheer her daughter up but to no avail.  
  
"Don't worry, under these conditions, I'm having a helicopter to fly you to Pewter City. This should have never happened! The Viridian Forest is under the protection of the pokemon league, for Team Rocket to attack here is unheard of." Nurse Joy tried to do her best to comfort her daughter.  
  
"I almost lost! My first pokemon would be gone right now if she succeeded! How could I be such a bad trainer?" Liz broke out in tears again.  
  
"It is not you fault! You did all you did a very good job with your amount of training. Being faced with a trainer ten times stronger than the bug trainers around here, you did a very good job. Your training is not complete yet, with more practice, you will never lose to team rocket.........if you ever come across them again which is very unlikely.  
  
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Riding on the helicopter, Brian and Jem reached Pewter City. They were still a little shaky for what they went through. After arriving at the Pewter airport, they said thank you to the pilot. The wind blew in their face, Pewter was a cold rock town that relied heavily on mining industries. The local museum was considered the worst of all the major cities. Everything seemed dull to them, the dust heavily polluted the air.  
  
"I hope all town aren't this bad!" Exclaimed Liz.  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean, :cough: but there is a reason why this town is first on the list." Informed Brian.  
  
"There's a reason why?"  
  
"The air here forces a lot of trainers with asthma to go back, along with other suffering similar problems."  
  
"That's awful! Couldn't they just make a law stating people with those problems can't go on the journey?"  
  
"If they did that, then people would start to protest at their door. I think however, this is much better because if people fell down sick in Mt. Moon, then there wouldn't be anyone to help them. But, they can be flow to safety if anything happens to them."  
  
"Well............I suppose but I don't like the idea though!"  
  
They continued walking, away from the launch pad, they weren't in much of a hurry, the wind was pleasant and spring had arrived. Unfortunately, Liz was still suffering from what nearly happened to her pokemon. Pokemon are considered life, trainers spend their life putting most of their energy in them. Losing them to Team Rocket or anyone else, can really kill you.  
  
"I know it's a topic to don't really want to talk about right now, but what do you think of Jem?" Giving Liz a questioning look.  
  
"She makes me nervous, especially the fact that she was this close to getting charmeleon. Liz said with a long face.  
  
"I.........really wouldn't know how I would take it if shellder was gone." Brian thoughtfully replied.  
  
"Do you think we will see her again?"  
  
"Team Rocket never gives up......."  
  
Liz stood there bitting her hand for a second.  
  
"No more thoughts about losing pokemon! We should be think to ways to beat Brock, not about that witch!"  
  
Liz stayed close to Brian who was slowly heading towards the local gym. Life, death, the point of existence was unknown to them only a few hours ago, but now both elements seemed crystal clear.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
The room had become cold, slumped over in a chair was Karen, dead with a gun in her hand. It was pitch black, the middle of night when Jem cautiously opened the door to the room. She was seven years old at the time and had just finish a day of training when she heard the gun blast.  
  
"Mom? Are you okay? I heard a noise like a gun shot so I hope you're okay." Jem was near a nervous breakdown.  
  
She stooped around in the room, always focussing on personal items like pictures or clay figurines, never the chair. Blood had soak the chair and Jem saw it when she first entered, but Jem kept ignoring it, hoping that nothing bad had happened.   
  
Startled by a creek in the planks the wooden floor, Jem froze. She took a deep breath before rushing out of the room. Her emotions were on edge, she tried to deny what happened but all she could think of was the blood soaked chair.  
  
Reaching her father's library she began looking desperately for him. Calling his name many times, she knew her father's habits well. Everyday at 12 PM, he would read for an hour before going to sleep. Always reading those strange books that Jem could never understand.  
  
Jem continued to search until she once again stood still. The hair on the back of her neck went straight, someone was watching her. Going by instinct, Jem hurried back to the door leading out of the room, but that was locked. Her mind spun, she had no idea what was happening.  
  
"If anyone is in here, come out now!!!" Jem shouted but receive no reply.  
  
Her heart continued to beat faster, her mind spun even faster as she ran spontaneously around the room looking for an exit. She bumped into book shelves, tables, and finally the dark figure hiding in the shadows. Her eyes widen, her heart stopped, then she fainted and fell onto the floor.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Brian and Liz walked towards the gym until Brian thought of something and stopped them.   
  
"How are we going to win the rock badge with only normal attacks?" Brian realized their situation.  
  
"I really never thought about that." Liz started to realize the situation as well.  
  
"Well, my shellder doesn't learn a water attack until 10 more levels."  
  
"My charmander's ember won't help a lot either."  
  
"So what do we do? Sit around as our pokemon get killed by Brock?"  
  
"We can think of a way around it if we try hard enough!"  
  
They sat near the doorway of the local pokeshop thinking of what to do now.  
  
"There is the TM for water gun in Mt. Moon." Suggested Liz.  
  
"The guards won't let us anywhere near the entrance until we fight Brock!" Considered Brian  
  
:sigh: Brian felt depressed, he had a water pokemon that wouldn't be able to fight against a rock gym.  
  
"I don't want my pokemon to be on a suicide mission, maybe we could head back into Viridian Forest to catch a butterfree? I hear they are very good against the first gym." Suggested Liz.  
  
"Well, I really don't want to head back, but if that is the only w......"  
  
They looked around and realized many people were running towards Viridian Forest.  
  
"I wonder what's happening." Commented Liz  
  
"If it is any good, then we should follow them." Suggested Brian   
  
Reaching the area where a huge crowd was clustered around something, they began to poke their way to the front. Everyone was excited over a pokemon, they all talked amongst, Brian hopped it was a mewtwo, Liz hopped it would be a blastoise.  
  
"Excuse me, I only what to see what's happening, could you move over a bit?" Pleaded Brian  
  
Finally they found out what the crowd was about, a sparkly weedle lay in the center. Everyone about pokemon represented wealth and power. Its stinger shined brightly in the sun causing people to wonder where it came from. When Liz and Brian saw it, their eyes lit up as they knew they were looking at a powerful pokemon. Officer Jenny also made her way in, she was taken by surprise at the unusually colored pokemon.  
  
"Wow, the police force could certainly use a pokemon like that!" Jenny said to herself.  
  
The female officer threw a pokeball at the weedle, energy burst out forming a growlithe. Everyone recognized the pokemon as a reddish dog-type pokemon that all the police forces love to use. Liz noted to Brian that their levels reflect on the current level of the police trainer it was with. For example, someone who is just beginning police training will only get a lower level growithe. From the badge Jenny was wearing, Liz could tell that she has been in the force for about a month.  
  
"Bite, take down that weedle!" Ordered Officer Jenny whose eyes glittered.  
  
Growlithe jumped up and landed with next to the weedle. It lunge forward to execute a bite attack, when the weedle flipped flopped in the air and landed behind the fire pokemon. When Brian asked Liz in a whisper why Growithe wasn't ordered a fire attack, Liz replied that growithe wasn't at a high enough level to know one yet.  
  
"What? Use bite again!" Jenny stared in disbelief.  
  
This time the weedle attack first and fired itself at the fire pokemon trying to hit it with a poison sting. Hurling itself, it crashed right between growithe's eyes. Poisoned, growithe did not manage attack weedle quickly enough with another bite. Further angered by this setback, growithe tried once again, this time using tackle. But weedle was prepared, it blinded growithe while it was up in the air with string shot. Landing hard on the ground, Growithe was finished by another poison sting at its side which knocked growithe out..  
  
"How can this be?" Asked a shocked and angry Jenny.  
  
Everyone was nervous, murmurs was spread around that this is an unbeatable weedle. People were about to leave when Brian stepped forward. He had his eyes on the prize weedle which was shining brightly in the afternoon sun.  
  
"Fine, I'll challenge you a fight!"  
  
Weedle posed for attack as Brian threw his shellder. The moment was tense, it was early in the afternoon and you could really feel the heat. Weedle and Shellder simply stared at each other.  
  
"Tackle, knock that weedle out!"  
  
Shellder moved forward as quickly, jumping in the air as high as it could but it wasn't quick enough for Weedle. Silk was sprayed onto shellder's shell giving it a casting. The casing hardened instantaneously turning rock solid, the situation looked grim for Brian.  
  
"Break the casing and try another tackle!" Brian ordered, trying to hide the hopelessness in his voice.  
  
Shellder struggled, the casing was difficult, the weedle was a tough pokemon. People leaned forward, excited to see the outcome. The water pokemon thrashed around for several moments, strength was lost each time and Brian knew that if it didn't break the casing now, he would surely lose. :smash: Brian was shocked at the power of his own pokemon, he had no idea that he had a chance of winning. Unfortunately, shellder was weakened from struggling out of the casing and had hardly any energy left. Brian knew this and told shellder to summon what was left of its strength for one last attack. Many people in the crowd cheered on as Shellder faced weedle once again..  
  
"Shel, Shelllder!" in its rage, flipped in the air several times, its shell glittered in the sun. It smashed into weedle, its hard shell completely knocked the bug pokemon out.  
  
"Pokeball, go!"  
  
Brian threw an empty pokeball at weedle, the ball moved in a steady swinging motion until it finally stopped.  
  
"Yes!!!"  
  
But the light never went out, to everyone's dismay weedle broke through.  
  
"What? So you want to keep on fighting don't you? Shellder, another tackle! A frustrated Brian exclaimed.  
  
Hope once again dwindled from Brian, shellder had hardly any energy left. So close to victory yet so far away, Brian said to himself. Weedle used another string shot, Brian closed his eyes, prepared to see shellder to be encased again but when he opened his eyes again, shellder was still heading towards weedle. Yet it wasn't weedle anymore, the poison pokemon was facing skywards and was spraying himself. Brian didn't understand what was happening until he saw the bug pokemon glow, it evolving to a Kakuna! Shellder was now up in the air and struck home, the new kakuna was tossed in the air.  
  
"Kakunnna!" Tired after the transformation, the pokemon yelled weakly.  
  
Kakuna saw its one last chance, shellder was growing tired and vulnerable. It attempted to smash into shellder, but aimed too high. It missed when shellder closed its shell causing, it landed into the ground a few feet away.  
  
"Shellder, I need you to finish the kakuna now!"  
  
Determined, shellder blasted itself towards the kakuna. The shellfish pokemon slammed head first into kakuna. The poison insect could not take the attack and collapsed.  
  
"I know you're weak enough now!" Brian smiled, he was going to get repaid after all this hard work.  
  
Another pokeball was thrown and weedle once again, went inside. The pokeball rocked back and forth violently until it slowed down to a steady pace. The entire crowd stared eagerly at the pokeball until it stopped with a ding.  
  
The entire crowed cheered and began leaving. Liz smiled as she clapped her hands.  
  
"Good job!"  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
"But what about the gym?"  
  
  
"We can't waste anymore time, let just deal with what attacks we have."  
  
----------------------  
  
"Hello?"  
  
The gym was huge, dust was on everything. The place had a hollow feeling to it. Light came from several spotlight near the ceiling. Up ahead, they would see the arena they would be fighting in. Barren, rocky, dry, perfect place for rock pokemon to battle in. Brian and Liz walked forward until they stopped at a red line.  
  
"Who challenges me?" Boomed a mysterious voice.  
  
"We do!" Brian and Liz both shouted at once.  
  
"Then lets battle! I have other meetings to attend to so I will need to battle both of you at the same time! Rules are simply, usually you may choose only four attack but since you probably don't even have that many now, any attack can be used. As many pokemon per person you want. You may NOT help each other in the battle. Ready? Let's go!" Brock quickly informed them.  
  
Brian was face with geodude and Liz now had to contend with Onix. Looking at his two choices, Brian decide to go with shellder first.   
  
"Shellder tackle!" Brian ordered  
  
"Geodude defence curl!"  
  
In a flash, Shellder was up in the air, hurling itself towards the geodude. After striking geodude, clouds of dusk blinded Brian view.   
  
"Geodude, forget defense curl, use tackle now!"  
  
"Shellder, go on the defensive, withdraw!"  
  
Now it was geodude who headed towards shellder. The rock pokemon hit the water pokemon at a high speed. The impact not only knocked out shellder, but caused geodude to crashed against the wall. More dust was in the air, geodude had suffered a critical hit.  
  
"Shellder return!"  
  
After returning Shellder to its pokeball, Brian held out his new pokemon, kakuna. After taking a deep breath, he threw kakuna into the arena.  
  
"Poison sting now!"  
  
Kakuna screamed in the arena, it even frightened Brock. Focusing on its new opponent it attack in a bitter rage, striking geodude with its stinger. Already weak from battling Shellder, geodude collapsed under kakuna's attack.  
  
"You've won the rock badge, congratulations! What? Your kakuna is evolving?!!" A surprise Brock exclaimed.  
  
The bug pokemon began to glow, it turned into a beam of shapeless energy. But from this, a sparkly fully evolved pokemon started appear. Kakuna now was Beedrill, the bug with the strongest bug attack!   
  
"Beedrill return!" Brian had a look of relief on his face.   
  
Liz congratulated Brian with a big hug. But she quickly turned her concentration on Brock. Onix was a huge pokemon, the immense size was enough to scare away pokemon, but charmander stood firm against it.  
  
"Charmander go!" Liz commanded nervously.  
  
"Onix, make this a quick battle!"  
  
The two pokemon now faced each other.  
  
"Charmander ember!"  
  
"Screech attack now!"  
  
A loud screech filled the air as charmander almost lost its balance from the noise.  
  
"Hang in there! Ember attack it now!" Ordered Liz.  
  
Onix was burnt by the embers but Brock quickly used full heal on it.  
  
"Use your ember attack again!"  
  
"Onix, bide!"  
  
"Keep using ember, attack until it falls!"  
  
Onix kept taking in the attack, but after four, it released the energy. Charmander was hit badly during the attack and was near fainting.  
  
"Charmander, hang in there!"  
  
Its eyes suddenly focussed as it prepared to use another ember attack.  
  
"Onix, finish it with a tackle!"  
  
But charmander was quicker, ember filled the air as charmander struck Onix. The giant pokemon fell to the ground and was recalled back to its pokeball.  
  
"Congratulations, you have won the rock badge."  
  
Through sheer joy, Brian and Liz hugged each other, the first challenge was over!  
  
-----------------------------  
  
"How is she, doctor?" Asked Giovanni.  
  
"The dream-eater treatment was never meant to be used more than once. There could be permanent damage if I do it again!" Replied Dr. Lee.  
  
They sat on opposite sides of the operating table, which Jem was laying on. Giovanni gave a depressing look then stroked his daughter's hair. He knew the dangers of a second treatment but he could not bear his daughter to have painful memories. With luck, they could start all over again, just like before.  
  
"I'm too tired to work, can't we do this next morning?" Requested Dr. Lee.  
  
"No, tonight or never!" Demanded Giovanni.  
  
"Please, we can have a better chance of success after I sleep."  
  
"Go ahead, but if you leave this room, you'll enter it again as a corpse to be examined by the new doctor!"  
  
"Could you at least tell me why you want me to do this tonight? Drugged, she can sleep as long as you want until we start treatment in better conditions."  
  
"Don't ever contradict me, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!!!" Giovanni yell echoed around the room, he was hot with rage.  
  
"Yes, I understand perfectly." Dr. Lee's hands were shaking when he started the treatment.  
  
After attaching numerous devices to Jem and his drowzee, Dr. Lee began to work. He pressed a few buttons on the computer screen, and it displayed Jem's brain mapped along with his drowzee's. Then he pressed another button which make a sound, almost a low grunting which could hardly be heard.  
  
Sweat rolled down his face, Dr. Lee worked as quickly as possible but he was very tired. He never expected the boss would call him down to erase Jem's memories again. He also never expected that the boss wouldn't wait for morning when he could do a better job.  
  
"Hurry up, idiot! What do I pay you for anyway?!!" Bellowed Giovanni once again.  
  
"I don't know but it's certain not this!" Dr. Lee muttered silently, making sure his voice was low enough that the boss wouldn't hear him.  
  
Minutes past, then hours, finally the treatment was finished and Lee removed everything from Jem and drowsee He almost fell down because of fatigue before he reviewed his treatment. He stared at the results paper, hoping for the best but in the middle of the night, failure was a real possibility. Lee sighed, he started to think that death seemed a better option instead of working like this.  
  
His eyes focussed him then focussed out. Words blurred together, then became clear again but only for a second before becoming blurred again. He found it very difficult to read the result, it was as though the words were in another language.  
  
"Giovanni, I'm too tired to read this, all I ask is that you read the letters after the word codename." Lee begged Giovanni to help him out.  
  
Giovanni gave Lee a menacing look before ripping the paper out of his hand. He searched the paper for the word codename. It took him a while but he finally found it in the middle of the page.  
  
"What?! DEGAMAD? What the Hell does that mean?!" Giovanni stared questionably at the doctor.  
  
"Uh.............it means that your daughter is fine, in the morning she will remember nothing." Lee tried his best to smile.  
  
"Good job!" Giovanni beamed then went out of the laboratory.  
  
Left alone at last Lee decided to return to his bed. But he found out that he couldn't sleep, he could only stared in the darkness at the ceiling. He told a half-lie to his boss and he knew that sooner or later, he would have to pay for it. 


End file.
